You may have watched exciting TV programs or read novels in which a character is able to use psychological profiles to catch a criminal. Criminal psychology may be a fascinating subject to you. However, you may be wondering what kind of degree criminal psychology demands. Usually, students will have to obtain a master’s degree to work in this field. As with any graduate degree, a master’s will take a lot of hard work and more than likely two to three years of study.
Before entering this field, you will have to obtain a bachelor’s degree. A student’s major doesn’t necessarily have to be in a subject directly related to crime or psychology. However, certain classes may be required at certain universities. Classes an undergraduate should complete include criminology, forensic science and basic psychology.
Once a bachelor’s degree has been obtained, the second degree students will be required to complete is a master’s degree. Many schools across the globe offer a master’s degree in criminal psychology. You don’t necessarily need to complete your bachelor’s degree at a school that does, but it is important to later find a graduate school that does offer such a program.
Work on the graduate level will be very specialized and focused strictly on studies related to the field. This will include advanced psychology classes taken to understand the inner workings of the human mind that can lead to criminal behavior. It will also include advanced courses in criminology and law to allow a student to understand the legal aspects of the field as well.
This program will typically include a decent amount of coursework. It will also require a student to pen a research paper known as a dissertation on a subject related to criminal psychology. Once the coursework and dissertation have been finished, the last step of most criminal psychology programs is to complete an internship. This internship will last at least a year and will be performed under the guidance of licensed criminal psychologists.
Once a student finishes this internship, he or she will be allowed to graduate with a master’s diploma. With this, a person will typically be able to acquire a license to practice criminal psychology.
